


What Can't Be Seen

by destieldrabblesdaily



Category: Supernatural
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Soulmate AU, Strangers to Lovers, author!Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 08:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4912342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destieldrabblesdaily/pseuds/destieldrabblesdaily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt: Soulmate AU where you first see color after eye contact: Cas is a famous best selling author and he’s promoting his book, so he’s talking to a crowd of people and suddenly his world is in color, and a lot of his fans pretend to be his soulmate. A Cinderella type situation ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Can't Be Seen

“Ready to rock, little bro?”

 _Breathe in, breathe out… It won’t be that bad, no one is going to bite you…_ Castiel mentally encouraged himself before curtly nodding at Gabriel.

Gabriel was his older brother as well as his manager, always coming up with these peculiar stunts that pulled Castiel right out of his comfort zone.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He answered, hastily running a hand through his hair, even though he had no illusions that the simple motion would be enough to fix that untamed mess.

A handful of deep breaths later, and his anxiety was gradually making room for determination. Gabriel pointed him to the exit of the bookstore’s staff room, the very room that Castiel had been pacing back and forth for thirty minutes straight now. Surely it couldn’t be that hard, surely it had to be easy as-

While Castiel was still busy giving himself a silent pep talk, Gabriel already pushed the door open, and squeals and whistles filled the air. Cameras flashed, and people were cheering, Castiel’s name echoing through the room. Gabriel shot him a wicked grin, leading Castiel onto the small stage that was set up there just for him.

“There’s  _hundreds_  of them, it’s a good thing we picked a huge-ass store. Make me proud, Cassie!” Were Gabriel’s last words of encouragement before he patted Castiel’s shoulder and took a few steps back.

Castiel gasped, looking down at the sea of people before him. This had been a terrible,  _terrible_  idea. Writing a best-selling book? Piece of cake. Talking in front of a large crowd? Castiel’s biggest nightmare. He should never have let Gabriel talk him into this. Who cared if it was good for his image, or for his relationship with the fans? Sure enough, Castiel cared about his readers, but what was the point in interacting with them if he turned into a blushing, stuttering mess?

“Castiel!” A forty-something year old woman in the front yelled excitedly.

Castiel offered her an awkward wave, while at the same time a microphone was suddenly pushed into his hand by his assistant and friend Charlie Bradbury.

“Where have you been?” Castiel asked urgently, having truly missed his friend’s usual support while he’d been waiting for the big event to start.

“Sorry I’m late, got stuck in traffic.” She uttered an apology, squeezing his shoulder. “Don’t be so tense, you can do it, Cas. Kick some ass, use your charm!”

With that, she threw her hair over her shoulder before half running to get off of the stage.

“Coward.” Castiel mumbled to himself as he stared after her for a moment, her long curly hair dancing behind her.

Red… The color of her hair was red, or so she’d told him. She would know, seeing as she’d found her soulmate Dorothy two years ago.

He assumed that it suited her, even though he couldn’t see it. Couldn’t see any colors but various shades of black, gray and white. It was beginning to get frustrating; being nearly thirty-two and still not having found his soulmate, thus still seeing the world as a faint shadow of what it actually was. Of course everyone always claimed that it was impossible to miss something that you never had to begin with, but aside from these colors, Castiel frequently felt the ache of someone special missing in his life.

Somehow, that thought inspired Castiel to talk to his audience. After all, this was exactly what his latest work had been about… A man who’d gone through great lengths to find his soulmate, traveling around the world to find them, simply because he couldn’t stand to not experience life in full color.

Castiel would be lying if he said that the story wasn’t based on his own feelings regarding the matter. He cleared his throat as he gazed at the many fans who were watching him expectantly, most of them gone quiet now, waiting for him to speak. He couldn’t tell what color clothes they were wearing, or what color their hair was.

Unfortunately, it was very possible that he never  _would_  be able to see it for himself, not unless he looked his soulmate in the eye for the first time.

With shaky hands, Castiel lifted the microphone, forcing his lips into what would have to pass for a smile.

“Welcome, everyone.” He started, scanning the crowd, many friendly faces staring right back at him. “Thank you for coming, I’m genuinely surprised that so many of you are here today to get your copy of ‘ _What Can’t Be Seen_ ’.”

Cheers from the audience.

Not a tough crowd, at least that was a good thing. Feeling more confident at the evident enthusiasm, Castiel let himself relax a little. He remembered some of the tips that Charlie had given him;  _always keep smiling, be open and friendly, make eye contact so that the fans will feel involved._

“I’m very excited to share this new story with all of you…” He continued, his smile coming more naturally now, his eyes searching the audience.

As he kept talking, he nodded at a lovely old lady in the front, smiled at a young woman in the middle, and waved at a group of men in the back who were all giving him a thumbs up. Getting really into it now, Castiel talked animatedly as he interacted with all of his fans. He sent more smiles to individual fans, so many that he was losing track of things. Old bald man, weird toothless lady, handsome man with freckles, young girl with short curly hair…

It was all going fantastic, perhaps a little  _too_  fantastic.

In the middle of a sentence, Castiel suddenly fell silent when without a warning, his vision went blurry. The odd sensation was followed by a flash of green and blue that knocked the breath right out of him, unlike anything had before. His fingers were trembling as he dropped the mic and rubbed his eyes and forehead, willing whatever this was to go away.

When Castiel opened his eyes again, he stumbled on his feet, overwhelmed. Countless fans were gawking at him, and it was making him dizzy, an explosion of various shades that he had never seen before confusing all of his senses. It was like stepping into the sunlight after spending a week in a dark room, and it was giving him a headache.

“Cas?!”

Both Charlie and Gabriel rushed to his side, and when Castiel glanced at them in bewilderment, the first thing he noticed were their eyes. That, and Charlie’s hair.  _Red_. So that was red.

“What’s going on, Cassie? Talk to us!” Gabriel demanded, looking like he was about to slap Castiel in the face to pull him out of his shock.

Charlie put an arm around his shoulder as they waited for him to say something.

“I…” Castiel’s voice broke, but he immediately tried again. “I see it now.”

~

Back at his hotel, Castiel sulkily stared out of the floor length window. On their way back to his suite, Charlie had stayed with him, giving him a crash course, so that he’d be able to put a name to most colors. Meanwhile, Gabriel had stayed behind to apologize to the audience and provide them with an explanation, as well as some discount coupons because the autograph session had been cancelled.

Castiel squinted, observing everything that he hadn’t been able to see before. The sky was supposed to be blue, he’d always known that, but he’d never known what it meant. Blue was a fairly nice color, he had to admit. As was green. All nice, but still a little blinding.

Luckily, some things hadn’t changed. Most skyscrapers still appeared to be gray, and the clouds were still a simple white with hints of something darker. He trusted that he’d get used to all the other colors out there, in time.

Sitting down on the small sofa, Castiel gratefully took the glass of Scotch that Charlie had poured him before she’d disappeared again, stating that she had more business to take care of.

Now that he was adjusting, there was something else that Castiel couldn’t stop thinking about.  _Who had it been?_ Who had turned his blacks into reds and blues, had turned his grays into greens and yellows?

Finding your soulmate was said to be a thing of beauty, something bordering on euphoria, not something that left you feeling alone and empty. Castiel had a dark suspicion as to what was different here; he wasn’t  _with_ his soulmate, they weren’t finding comfort in each other’s arms and sharing their first actual glimpse at the world together.

There was a knock on the door, and Castiel swallowed his liquor in one go.

“Come in.”

In waltzed Charlie, a bright smile on her face as she closed the door behind her, then flopped down next to Castiel.

“Good news, Cas! Gabe made sure that none of your potential soulmates could escape, and we’re going to help you find  _the one_.”

Castiel had a weird vision of hundreds of people trapped inside a bookstore, and he narrowed his eyes at Charlie.

“What? What did Gabriel do?” He probed.

“No worries.” Charlie assured him, patting his knee. “He explained why you left, then asked if anyone else had felt anything weird when looking into those pretty blues of yours. And guess what?”

She paused, raising her eyebrows at Castiel as if she expected him to play along with her little quiz.

“What?” Castiel repeated obediently, fearing where this was going, but also unable to ignore the yearning he felt at the mere mention of his unknown soulmate.

Charlie beamed, no longer hiding her excitement.

“Eighty-nine people said  _yes_!”

~

“What is it that I’m supposed to do again?” Castiel checked one last time as Gabriel handed him a stack of papers, rainbow colored.

Gabriel rolled his eyes, but humored him.

“Whenever Charlie and I let a new person into your suite, the first thing you’ll do is the color test.” Gabriel recited patiently. “Assuming that nobody here is cheating on their actual soulmate, none of them should be able to see color unless  _you_  are their soulmate. Show them these seven sheets, and you’ll know soon enough. If they pass the test… Well, we’ll see how many of them do, considering that at least eighty-eight of them are liars.”

That sounded pretty discouraging, and Castiel heaved a sigh as his fingers tightened around the stack of colored sheets.

“It’ll be alright, Cassie. We will find your better half, promise.”

With one last wink, Gabriel slipped out of the room, and Castiel heard the sound of many voices when the door opened then closed again.

 _Splendid._  This was going to take a while…

~

Eighty-nine interrogations later, and nobody had passed the test. Despite there being two really good guessers -a girl named Becky and a guy named Aaron- nobody had been convincing. Besides, Castiel hadn’t felt a real connection with any of them.

Once everyone had left, Charlie and Gabriel also took off after the three of them had shared one last drink in Castiel’s suite, deciding that it was time to call it a night. They’d vowed that it wouldn’t end here, and that the search would continue in the morning.

For now, it was just Castiel and his thoughts, staring at the ceiling and unable to fall asleep. There he was, all alone in that king-sized hotel bed, finally seeing colors but not truly enjoying it because it reminded him of something that was still missing.

_Knock knock._

Castiel’s heart jumped at the sound. Nearly midnight, and someone was knocking on his door. Strange.

“Charlie?” He called as he slipped out of bed and tentatively tiptoed across the room.

No response.

“Gabriel is that you?” Castiel questioned, his ear pressed against the door this time.

A sudden reply came in the form of a deep, warm voice that Castiel was sure he’d never heard before, yet he recognized it on some level.

“It’s ehm… It’s no one you know, but I think we should talk.”

The voice was sending an odd sort of tingling throughout Castiel’s entire body, tickling along his spine, the nape of his neck, and even the tips of his toes. It was strange but pleasant, and Castiel was fascinated.

Against his better judgement, he turned the lock, opening the door just enough so that he could take a peek.

His jaw dropped when he practically came nose to nose with another human being, wide eyes cautiously staring into Castiel’s, foreign yet familiar. Without thinking, Castiel opened the door all the way, vaguely recalling a handsome face covered in freckles.

The guy scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly at Castiel.

“I’m Dean, Dean Winchester. I was… I was here, earlier today.” The stranger, Dean, clarified even though Castiel hadn’t asked for any kind of explanation. “Then I saw all these people and I figured… I figured I’d come back later. Besides, I’m still getting used to all of these colors man, it’s  _crazy_.”

Just like that, there it was. That rare feeling that Castiel had been chasing all along. Like coming home after a long trip. Like being held after a rough week. Like sunshine on an endless rainy day.

In pure relief, Castiel huffed out a laugh.

“Yes… It’s very crazy.” He muttered as he gestured for Dean to come in, never taking his eyes off of the man.

Castiel closed the door behind them, and they gazed at each other, cheeks pink, both rendered speechless. There were a million questions that Castiel wanted to ask, but he knew that they had time, plenty of it.

In hindsight, this had all been so silly. Castiel didn’t need colored sheets of paper to verify what was happening; he could feel it in his very soul. That feeling of ‘ _hey, it’s you. It was always meant to be you for me_ ’.

They both took one step closer, and then Dean’s palm was cupping Castiel’s cheek, undemanding, giving Castiel a choice. Castiel leaned into it, easy as breathing, and then he noticed the sparkle in Dean’s eyes. Eyes so bright, the rest of the world might have gone back to black and white, and Castiel wouldn’t have noticed.

Dean grinned happily, cocking his head. “So… wanna tell me what you’re thinking,  _Castiel Novak_?”

Castiel felt his blood buzzing in his veins when Dean murmured his full name for the first time. He spilled the only thought that came to mind.

“I was thinking… I’m already certain that  _green_  is my favorite color.”

Dean’s grin didn’t waver, but he shrugged as his thumb gently traced Castiel’s cheekbone.

“I gotta disagree with you there. Mine’s  _blue_.”

~

The next morning, Castiel woke up in the arms of his soulmate. They’d talked all night, until they’d fallen asleep on top of the covers. As it turned out, Dean had been at the book signing because his younger brother Sam was a fan of Castiel’s work, and Dean had tagged along. What were the odds? 

Dean was still asleep when the sun decided to rise, painting the sky in yellow, orange, pink, and purple. Not a boring gray, or even a fresh light-blue. Although Castiel marveled at the beauty of it all, none of these colors could ever compete with a particular shade of green that he’d recently gotten to know.

Castiel flinched when someone started loudly banging on his door, followed by the chipper sound of Charlie’s voice.

“Rise and shine, Cas! Get your ass out of bed, it’s time to find  _your soulmate_!”

Dean stirred in Castiel’s arms, opening one eye in order to glare at the door.

Castiel couldn’t hold in a snort when Dean lazily raised his hand and mumbled a sleepy " _Present.”_

**Author's Note:**

> For more Destiel stories, go to destieldrabblesdaily.tumblr.com


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